With more than 45 NBA representatives at last week’s Hungry Jack’s NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast, Australia is clearly firmly on the radar in the search for the world’s best young talent.

Scouts and executives flocked to catch this year’s crop of highly touted Next Stars, but also on the lookout for the next Xavier Cooks, Jock Landale or Jack White, NBL stars who've made the transition to the NBA with great success. 

The NBL is a breeding ground for NBA talent, and that trend is only going to continuing to growth. 

Utah Jazz General Manager Justin Zanik said NBA teams were constantly monitoring players across Australia and the NBL. The presence of scouts at the Blitz will continue across the regular season. 

“As a league, we’ve continued to watch Australia for a number of years. We’ve seen the international team and there are a number of NBA players from Australia,” Zanik told The Sunday Times.

“If you’re a good player in the rest of the world, the NBA is going to find you.

“The NBL Next Stars program is continuing to develop. Having these young players that have a chance to compete against guys that have a lot of experience in specific systems and a professional environment with professional physios and professional coaches – there’s no school any more, so these guys get to really focus on their jobs.

“The league as a whole will be here all year as the Next Stars program continues to grow.”

The likes of Alex Sarr, Bobi Klintman, AJ Johnson and Trentyn Flowers feature heavily among early first-round projections from NBA draft experts.

Fellow Next Stars Alex Toohey, Ariel Hukporti and Rocco Zikarsky did their chances no harm either, with several strong performances at the Blitz to put their names up in lights. 

The Hungry Jack's NBL season tips off on Thursday night with a sold-out clash between Melbourne United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Watch every game live on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.